Bramcote CofE Primary School

Inspection of a good school: Bramcote Church of England Primary School Hanley Avenue, Bramcote, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG9 3HE

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Inspection dates: 26 and 27 January 2022

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Outcome

Bramcote Church of England Primary School continues to be a good school.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils enjoy coming to school. They are eager to learn new things and love spending time with their friends. Pupils get on well together and respect each other. In this positive school atmosphere, pupils thrive.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Staff have high expectations of pupils. Pupils understand the importance of the school’s values. They readily uphold these values through their good behaviour and can-do attitudes. They like celebrating their own and other’s achievements through weekly awards. Members of the pupil parliament are proud of their work to improve the school and support the local community.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Pupils feel safe in school. They know that staff will look after them. Pupils care about each other. Older pupils help younger ones and act as positive role models. Bullying is unusual. When pupils fall out, staff sort out their differences swiftly. Pupils new to school make friends quickly. Everyone is welcome.

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What is it like to attend this school?

Most parents and carers are pleased with what the school offers their children. One parent, typical of many, said, ‘My child is known, cared about, encouraged and supported.’ Some parents would like to know more about what their children learn in school. They say that communication between home and school could be better.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Leaders are revising the school’s curriculum. For each subject, they are identifying the important knowledge and skills they want pupils to learn at each stage. This work is progressing well, but is not yet complete. Leaders are still developing the curriculums in a few subjects, including design and technology and geography. This is partly because the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the pace of these improvements.

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What does the school do well and what does it need to do better?

Children start to learn phonics as soon as they join Reception Year. Pupils in early years and key stage 1 benefit from daily phonics sessions. A well-structured programme helps 26 and 27 January 2022

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pupils learn to match letters and sounds in a consistent way. Pupils use their decoding skills routinely to sound out unfamiliar words. Teachers revisit tricky sounds so that pupils remember them. Leaders arrange extra help for pupils who fall behind. However, a small number of these pupils do not get the support they need to catch up quickly. These pupils’ books are not well matched to the sounds they know. They cannot read these books fluently. Leaders are reviewing this support to make sure that these pupils can catch up. Pupils contribute enthusiastically during daily story times. Older pupils enjoy reading books they have chosen. They know why it is important to be a good reader.

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The mathematics curriculum is well thought through. It follows a logical order, beginning with Reception Year. Pupils revisit important knowledge on a cycle, each time deepening their learning. Teachers frequently check pupils’ understanding and correct any misconceptions. They make sure that pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the help they need. In lessons, pupils often opt for activities that challenge them and make them think. Teachers move pupils on once their knowledge is secure, so that they can try more difficult tasks. Pupils enjoy studying mathematics and achieve well.

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Adults support children well in early years. There is a strong focus on developing children’s speech, language and communication. Adults use skilful questions to encourage children to talk about their learning. Children engage well with a range of well-planned activities. They cooperate effectively with each other and grow in confidence.

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Pupils have positive attitudes to learning. Well-established routines help pupils to settle down in lessons and focus quickly on their work. Staff deal with any disruptions swiftly so that pupils’ learning is not affected.

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Pupils develop an understanding of the range of faiths and cultures in modern Britain. They value opportunities to make a positive difference. For instance, they contribute to the Hope Nottingham food bank and their posters are displayed in the children’s ward of the local hospital. Pupils learned about the COP26 Climate Change Conference, and have identified actions they will take to protect the environment.

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The school is well led. Staff appreciate steps taken by leaders to help them manage their workload and promote their well-being. Governors are ambitious for the school and its pupils. They know precisely how well the school is doing. Governors provide leaders with appropriate challenge and support, and agree leaders’ priorities for improvement. Leaders benefit from close links with other schools in the local diocese. They value the support they get when they attend local diocesan networks.

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Safeguarding

The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.

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Safeguarding

Pupils know how to keep themselves safe, including when online. They say that they have someone to talk with if they are worried about something. They are confident that staff will take their concerns seriously. 26 and 27 January 2022

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Staff know how to spot whether a pupil is at risk of harm. They report any concerns promptly to leaders. Staff have had recent safeguarding training, including about particular risks in the local area.

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Leaders know pupils and their families well. They provide close support to pupils who are vulnerable. They involve external agencies when necessary if pupils need extra support. During the inspection, leaders acted quickly to improve some minor safeguarding procedures.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

 The school’s curriculum is not yet sufficiently well planned and sequenced in some subjects, such as geography and design and technology. It is not yet fully clear what pupils should learn and when in these subjects to build their knowledge over time. However, it is clear that leaders have begun to review and plan the curriculum in these subjects and are making any necessary amendments in response to the pandemic. For this reason, the transitional arrangements have been applied.  A small minority of pupils have fallen behind with their reading, in part as a result of the pandemic. Reading books that these pupils are given do not always match precisely their knowledge of phonics. Support for these pupils is not helping them to catch up as quickly as they should. Leaders need to ensure that these pupils get the help they need to become fluent and accurate readers.  Communication by leaders with parents is sometimes not as effective as it could be.

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(Information for the school and appropriate authority)

Some parents feel that leaders do not keep them informed well enough about what their children are learning and how they can support them. Leaders need to ensure that they keep parents up to date with information about the effective work they are doing to care for and support pupils.

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Background

When we have judged a school to be good, we will then normally go into the school about once every four years to confirm that the school remains good. This is called a section 8 inspection of a good or outstanding school, because it is carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. We do not give graded judgements on a section 8 inspection. However, if we find evidence that a school would now receive a higher or lower grade, then the next inspection will be a section 5 inspection. Usually this is within one to two years of the date of the section 8 inspection. If we have serious concerns about safeguarding, behaviour or the quality of education, we will deem the section 8 inspection a section 5 inspection immediately.

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Background

This is the second section 8 inspection since we judged the school to be good in March 2012. 26 and 27 January 2022

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How can I feed back my views?

find out what other parents and carers think. We use information from Ofsted Parent View when deciding which schools to inspect, when to inspect them and as part of their inspection.

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How can I feed back my views?

The Department for Education has further guidance on how to complain about a school.

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How can I feed back my views?

If you are the school and you are not happy with the inspection or the report, you can complain to Ofsted .

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Further information

You can search for published performance information about the school.

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Further information

In the report, ‘disadvantaged pupils’ refers to those pupils who attract government pupil premium funding: pupils claiming free school meals at any point in the last six years and pupils in care or who left care through adoption or another formal route. 26 and 27 January 2022

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School details

Local authority Nottinghamshire County Council

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School details

Appropriate authority Board of governors

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Date of previous inspection

6 December 2016, under section 8 of the Education Act 2005

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Information about this school

 In January 2022, the deputy headteacher assumed the role of coordinator for SEND provision for a temporary period.  The school uses one unregistered alternative provider: The Island Project Farming and Education Centre.  A section 48 inspection of the school’s religious character took place on 23 May 2017.

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Information about this inspection

This was the first routine inspection the school had received since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The inspector discussed the impact of the pandemic with leaders, and has taken that into account in her evaluation of the school.

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Information about this inspection

 The inspector met with the headteacher and other senior leaders. The inspector met with representatives of the governing body, including the chair of governors, and spoke with a representative of the diocese on the telephone.  The inspector carried out deep dives in three subjects: reading, mathematics and geography. For each deep dive, the inspector met with curriculum leaders, looked at 26 and 27 January 2022

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curriculum plans, visited a sample of lessons, met with teachers of the lessons visited, spoke to some pupils about their learning and looked at samples of pupils’ work. The inspector also reviewed pupils’ workbooks in a wider range of subjects. The inspector listened to some pupils in Year 1 and Year 2 read with an adult.  The inspector met with members of the pupil parliament and spoke with other pupils informally.  The inspector evaluated the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements by reviewing the school’s record of pre-employment checks, holding discussions with leaders, staff and pupils, and reviewing documentation relating to safeguarding.  The inspector considered the responses to Ofsted’s online questionnaire, Parent View, and an email received from a parent. She took note of the results of the Ofsted staff survey. There were no responses to the pupil survey.  The inspector reviewed a range of documentation, including the school’s self-evaluation

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and school improvement plan. She considered information about pupils’ behaviour and the wider curriculum.

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Inspection team

Rachel Tordoff, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector 26 and 27 January 2022

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regulates and inspects to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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